|
On these pages, we have portrayed psychologists who do house calls,
who work in reality television, NASA programs and the military.
We have spoken with psychologists who treat patients online, with
a dog or in an idyllic garden setting. When you start to look around,
it becomes apparent that the outlets for psychological training
are limitless.
In that long list of alternative employment opportunities, you
probably won't find too many who double as children's party magicians,
or who will admit it…
But it's not just about pulling rabbits out of hats or coins out
of ears. For Bob Moverman, Ph.D., a North Andover-based clinician
with New England Neurological Associates in North Andover, Mass.
and Northeast Rehabilitation Hospital in Salem, N.H., being known
to legions of children as "Mr. Magic" brings its own rewards. Entertaining
children and the occasional adult party with magic tricks offers
a stress-releasing hobby to add balance to his busy schedule. Moverman
spoke with New England Psychologist's Catherine Robertson
Souter about his alter ego and about how magic enhances his work
as a psychologist as well.
Q: How did you first get involved with magic? Is this something
that you have always been interested in?
A: Well, it all goes back to my childhood….
My uncle was a semi-professional magician and he started showing
me some tricks. I got some books at the library and I'd go to the
joke shop or my dad would come home from a business trip and bring
a new trick.
Then I went to college and graduate school and started my career.
I really wasn't thinking about magic. But when my oldest daughter
[now 17] was turning four, I pulled out some magic tricks for entertainment
at the party. It was a big hit and a friend of ours wanted me to
come and do something similar for his party and then a friend of
theirs wanted to know if I was available for hire. That's how it
started.
Q: What do you think made the show a success?
A: I guess it's the fact that I enjoy being a little silly,
entertaining people, doing comedy. My interest in magic is something
that people can feel. You have to enjoy being a bit of a performer.
You have to be able to engage your audience.
Q: Any thoughts of making this a full-time job?
A: I've had fantasies about becoming a very successful, full-time
magician, of course. In some ways it's more fun than psychotherapy.
I can't say it's more rewarding but you get a more positive response.
Realistically, it would take a lot of work to do it on a full-time
basis. You've got to generate new business all the time - there
are not a lot of repeat customers.
In terms of having to support a family, I need the steady income.
So, I'm happy to have this as a side business/hobby.
Q: How does your background as a psychologist cross over into
this? And vice-versa?
A: I try to work psychotherapy ideas into my magic show because
it enriches the performance having the children learn something.
For example, there's a routine I do where I take a long, sharp needle
and insert it into a balloon. I talk to the children about going
to the doctor and getting a shot and how if they relax, they might
not even feel it. I have everybody try to relax and then I'll put
the needle into the balloon and they see that it goes right through
it and the balloon doesn't pop.
In terms of crowd control or understanding the children, being
a psychologist comes in very handy. You have to understand where
they are coming from and not to let your own ego get involved. You
need to take advantage of what you know about people and their own
basic needs.
I see clear parallels between my work as a cognitive psychologist
and a magician. Both professions involve an effort to have the subject
think outside of the box or to consider that our perceptions are
not always fully accurate. Being able to suspend some assumptions
about our reality and to perceive a 'new dimension,' so to speak,
can lead to a remarkable experience, a kind of release that can
be therapeutic for the client in my office or highly entertaining
to the magician's audience. I think this is the goal that drives
me to engage and make an impact on the people I work with.
Q: And vice versa?
A: Magic has become a bit of a calling card for me as a therapist.
One of the doctors I work with will have children that are reluctant
or scared about seeing a psychologist. He'll mention that, "This
guy likes to do magic and he teaches kids who see him how to do
tricks." They get excited about that and then I make that an entrée
into developing a little rapport, helping them be a little more
relaxed.
Also, there is psychotherapeutic value to teaching kids magic.
You can have children focus on one particular thing to learn, a
skill they can practice that can be used in a social context where
they can start having positive relationships with adults or other
children. They can feel proud of something that they can do and
they can learn the verbal skills they need to present the storyline
and the manual dexterity that may go along with some of this. That
can be very ego enhancing for some children.
I've also taught magic to the occupational therapists to use when
they work on manual dexterity, or cognition, or memory. It's a great
way to have these patients practice these skills in a context that's
more enjoyable. They can then show their grandchildren or relatives.
Q: Maybe it's not a bad idea for psychologists to pick this
up as a tool to make a connection with kids.
A: Oh, definitely. I have one friend who is a Massachusetts psychologist
and uses magic tricks in his work with children. He's not a seasoned
professional by any means, but he knows enough that he can have
fun with the children doing magic and he uses it as part of his
therapy.
Q: Any specific tricks that would be good to start with?
A: There are books out there that teach children how to do magic
and that's something that any psychologist should be able to handle.
There is one particularly good book that has a wealth of material
in it and most of it is pretty simple. It's called "Mark Wilson's
Complete Course in Magic." (Running Press).
There's also a Project Magic program that David Copperfield started
that's designed for this purpose. [http://www.dcopperfield.com]
It has a number of tricks and it explains their benefits in rehab.
That's another way people can look into it if they are interested
in using magic.
Q: Your Web site mentions a party where you worked with children
with ADD?
A: I did a birthday party where the father came up to me at
the end and told me that his son is in a special class for children
with ADD and all his classmates were there. He said their teacher
was not going to believe it when he told her that they sat still
for this long. That's really where the real magic is, capturing
people's imagination and having them stay focused on something and
enjoy it. There might be something therapeutic about that and magical,
I think.
Q: There we go, a whole new field of study, the therapeutic
benefits of magic.
A: Well, do you know the difference between a psychologist and
a magician?
Q: Um, no, what?
A: A psychologist pulls habits out of rats.
|
